Hour Of The Dawn (LP)

La Sera

Amoeba Review

05/12/2014

La Sera’s Katy Goodman cranks it up to 11 on her new album, Hour of the Dawn. Goodman’s project has always balanced sugary melodies nicely with distorted guitars and punk beats, but this is the first time she’s tipped the scales toward the “power” segment of her power-pop equation. The change brings out a little snarl in her otherwise sweet-as-apple-pie voice, as she battles the heavy, hardcore-inspired guitarwork of blistering opener “Losing to the Dark.” Fans of Goodman’s previous work needn’t worry though—she still peppers the songs with cooing harmonies and girl-group choruses in songs like “Summer of Love,” while her band trades off between ’50s pop delicacy and post-punk grit. Hour of the Dawn’s boundless energy is infectious, as it seems Goodman and her band have become seasoned pros at churning out pop gems and are digging into their record collections for ways to spice things up, adding jangly flair to and dueting vocals to the radio-ready “10 Headed Goat Wizard” and dialing up some J Mascis-worthy soloing on the excellent title track. The record sounds almost as though it’s recorded live (and perhaps is, in part), but it wisely never aims for a lo-fi affection Goodman probably couldn’t pull of at this point in her career. Instead, it sounds like a La Sera record both refined and roughed up just enough to keep it interesting. Hour of the Dawn keeps it loud and leaves you smiling.